On Wednesday morning (23), the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) held the launch session for the 76th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC), which will be hosted for the third time at UFPA, in Belém, from July 7 to 13, 2024. The meeting is considered the largest scientific event in Latin America. Before the announcement ceremony, a press conference was held, attended by the rector Emmanuel Zagury Tourinho, the president of the SBPC, Renato Janine Ribeiro, and the secretary-general of the SBPC, Cláudia Linhares Sales.
In addition to the dates of the 76th Annual Meeting of the SBPC, the press conference also announced the theme of this year's event: "Science for a sustainable and inclusive future - for a new social contract with nature". For Rector Emmanuel Zagury Tourinho, the meeting will be an opportunity to discuss the reality of the Amazon and the intervention of the scientific community in 2025, at the 30th UN Conference on Climate Change (COP-30), which will take place in the capital of Pará.
"Society needs to take part in this debate, to know what science is and the answers it has to offer to our society's problems. Therefore, the annual meeting is an open event, not just for scientists, but for all people interested in learning about what is being done in science in all areas. And there is a science exhibition especially aimed at children and teenagers, young people from primary and secondary schools. So it's very important for schools to mobilize their students to come to university campuses. This often works to awaken vocations," commented Emmanuel Zagury Tourinho.
Having an Amazonian university host the SBPC Annual Meeting is important, says Renato Janine Ribeiro, president of the organization, because the Amazon represents the symbol of sustainability to the world: "It is practically the symbol of the relationship between human beings and nature. And this relationship could lead to great advances for humanity with the discovery of various kinds of therapeutic or cosmetic properties in the Amazon's vast biodiversity. Apart from that, it is essential to consider that all this biodiversity has been preserved thanks to the work of the Amazonian populations over the centuries and perhaps millennia."
After the press conference, the event's launch session took place in the auditorium of the Benedito Nunes Events Center with the presentation of the panel "Science for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future", which, in addition to Tourinho, Ribeiro and Sales, included the participation of four researchers from UFPA. Professor Everaldo Barreiros de Souza addressed the topic of "The Amazon Forest and Climate Change"; Professor Nils Edvin Asp Neto gave a lecture on "Exploitation of Natural Resources and Conservation of the Amazon Biome"; Professor Edna Castro addressed the topic of "Transformation in the Territory, Conflicts and Political Perspectives of Amazonian Peoples"; and Professor Antônio Gomes Moreira Maués spoke about "Human Rights in the Amazon".
UFPA was chosen to host SBPC 2024 at a meeting of the Council of the Scientific Society, with the unanimous approval of its members. The institution has already hosted the event on two other occasions: in 1983, with the activities taking place on the Guamá Campus; and in 2007, with the concentration of activities at the Hangar Amazon Convention Center. In 2024, the event will once again take place on campus, on the banks of the Guamá River.
ABOUT SBPC
The Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science (SBPC) is a civil, non-profit organization dedicated to the defense of scientific and technological advancement and the educational and cultural development of Brazil. Since it was founded in 1948, the SBPC has played a key role in promoting and improving the national science and technology system, as well as disseminating and popularizing science in the country.
